Almost lost to Chevy Cavriler and Civic

Ok So a few hours ago I am in my 91 Mustang 5.0 (AOD) and this crappy 4 door cavriler pulls up next to me at a stop light. It is pure stock and missing hub caps and has 4 people in it. The guy wanted to race. So I obliged by stomping on it when it turned green. My tires spun for about three seconds then suddenly caught (kinda weird) then slowly picked up. The Cavriler held up for a bit until i got through the intersection then i passed him up good. Then he was long gone. But he held on through the intersection!!! That was embarassing. Anyways this dude pulls up next to me at the very next stop light and says, what you got done to your car. I say a lot. Then he says, dont seem to fast!!! That was double embarassing. I turned around and headed home. Then as I am turning right and yeilding onto a two lane road I notice a Civic right on my tail. So as soon as I leave the turn I stomp on it. She picked up good and then I momentarily took my foot of the gas because I did not want to go to fast. Then the civic is on my passenger side bumper so I stomp on it again and the tranny does not downshift. I just go slowly faster. He did not catch up with me but he held up on my bumper!!! So at home, I test the tranny. I slap it in 1st and it feels like 2nd. I did this a few times. Then the car finally gets into 1st and pulls hard the way it should. Whats up??? My mods include

-FULL exhaust, H-Pipe (No Cats)
-75mm Throttle body
-K @ N filter
-Southside lift bars upper and lower out back
-Quad shocks
-3.27 gears
-Rear Sway Bar
-Alluminum Drive shaft
-Super Sub Frame Connectors
-2900lb curb weight

I should be around 250hp and 310 lb ft. Is my tranny holding me back??? Would a stall wake her up?? What RPM Stall should i go with? Also, the tranny leaks and when I checked it at home after the race(s) i was about a quart low. That could not have made me loose that bad though. Whats up?? What am I running in the 1/4???

HELP!!

First off, that 75mm TB is killing you. You shouldn't have any bigger than stock (I think 60mm) on a stock motor. If you still have the stock TB, put it back on. A stall converter will help a bit too.

And I am certain you don't have anywhere near 250 rwhp. All you really have is exhaust. You most likely have around 190-210 rwhp. There's no way you should've barely beat those two cars.

That sounds pretty bad. I raced a G35 and lost by less then a car length. Mine is stock except for cold air intake, 3350 man. tranny, bassani headers shorties, h-pipe, and flowmaster dumps. The G35 had a crazy ass cold air intake that sounded like a super loud constant blowoff valve. Sounded intimidating. Well sorry I went off topic, I hope you figure out what the problem is. According to car-stats.com a stock 91 is supposed to run 15.6 in the 1/4 which matches up to the new civic si. Isn't their 1/4 for our car wrong?

Maybe 250hp at the flywheel. I'd guess closer to 205. Where is the transmission leaking from? My 88' Mark VII is leaking from the lines running to the radiator. It doesn't shift as nice as it should. Check to make sure the tv cable is adjusted properly. My GT doesn't downshift when I punch it sometimes too, I think its because once your going a cirtain speed it exceeds the rpms for the next lower gear and it won't downshift.

Mustang Mulch said it right on the money.... that 75mm Throttle Body is really hurting you man (Way To Much Throttle Body)......
Can Anyone Say T-5 (Or Tremec) Swap!??? Either that or throw a mild stall and some 3:73 gear's in her and go kick some ass!

I think it is a 75mm. I bought it with it on there. It measures 2 7/8". By my calculations that is a 75mm. Am I wrong?

practice driving?

Ok, having an AOD I can help you. 1st, ditch the 75mm and put a junkyard 60mm on. Look at my mild engine and which places 293rwhp to the ground and I use a 65mm. Secondly, 4.10s, for about $425 installed, you wouldn't be embarrassed anymore.
Third, 3K stall, don't buy junk, trust me on this. About $850 installed for a Precision Industries.

That should be the priority of your future mods.

You'll move up from Cavaliers and Civics to LT1 Camaros and 2V Mustangs.

You probally are wrong, the size of the TB is measured by where the inside where the buttefly pivots. 24mm is about 1", so 2 7/8ths would be closer to 70mm, then again if it's aftermarket is will be marked somewhere on there. Check the part number if it is a Ford unit.

-FULL exhaust, H-Pipe (No Cats)
-75mm Throttle body
-K @ N filter
-Southside lift bars upper and lower out back
-Quad shocks
-3.27 gears
-Rear Sway Bar
-Alluminum Drive shaft
-Super Sub Frame Connectors
-2900lb curb weight

Your car is light, did you weigh it on a scale? You have done some mods, but your far from alot. When you say full exaust, do you mean headers too? Those southsides should be good for traction, but with the stock converter and 3.27 gears your out of luck. If your car was mine, first I would fix that leak and while I am at it I would put a good tranny cooler in it and flush it with some fresh fluid along with a new trans filter. Maby throw in a shift kit as well. Then I would swap those 3.27's for some 4.10's or at least 3.73's. That alone would make a night and day difference. Then I would see about at least a 2500 converter. Chips usually suck, but for an AODE, it might get yours to downshift a little easier. If yours uses a kickdown cable, they can be adjusted can't they?

Yea I certainly hope you don't think you have 250 RWHP dude. All you have is a full exhaust and a k&n.

Get some gears, and a smaller TB.

In fairness, he didn't say 250rwhp, he said 250hp. Which, at the flywheel, isn't too far off the mark I'd bet.

A stall convertor and some gears will REALLY help you get up and go. Like the others said - Get the stock TB back on there, you will feel a seat-of-the-pants difference.

Trade that TB off for a 76mm C&L or 77mm Pro-M. Got headers??? Then get some gears. And just how exactly did you get that down to 2900#???

2900Ib is very light. Is it a Coupe?
How do you come up with such a light number? ..... I wish my GT was 2900Ibs.

I dida lot of weight reduction, anyways, I think the trans may me starting pout in second a lot more than I thought, plus she shifts early. No adjustment can be made on the cable. Thanks for the tip, ill go with a shift kit, and get that leak fixed. How do i race with the AOD??? I know i suck.

If your tranny fluid was about a quart off, then that could explain why it's not shifting correctly. There isn't enough fluid for it to function correctly. I also agree with what 90mustangGT said about a tranny cooler.

pullies, 73mm maf, 75mm tb, tmos lower intake, and nice exhaust and a t-5 with short shifter. don't forget to remove the air silencer. bump timing to 14 and tps to 1.0

I think I can hear that Tremec calling your name, just think if you could have shifted your own gears would that civic be on your tail? I think you know what needs to be done.

PUT YOUR AOD IN 1st GEAR TAKE OFF UNTIL REDLINE THEN PUSH IT UP IN SECOND AS SOON AS YOU FEEL IT SHIFT INTO SECOND PULL IT BACK INTO 1rst GEAR AGAIN AND IT WILL STAY IN SECOND UNTIL YOU MANUALY SHIFT IT OUT

ok, best thing you get do to your car is get 4.10, you will not be disappointed, i promise....only downside is your foot somehow gets heavier with 4.10's and you seem to want to speed alot more . ........4.10's, 4.10's, 4.10's especially since you have an AOD. Good luck

i have:
70mm TB
14 degrees timing
global west C/C plates
eibach drag launch spring kit
SSM lower lift bars with adjustable pinion snubber
A/C and smog delete (short belt)
MSD Blaster coil w/ MSD wire kit
Lakewood 70/30's and 50/50's in the rear
Weld draglites w/ 295/50/15 tires in the rear and skinnys up front
subframe connectors
BBK equal length headers
Pypes Exhaust X pipe kit
spintech mufflers
supercoupe T-5 tranny

my future mods will be: tremec TK0500 tranny, turbocharger, and trickflow package


i was wondering, why do you still have quad shocks if you have SSM lift bars? how do you even install them with the lift bars?